Today, the Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg is one of the hundred richest people in the world, in the Russian rating according to 2018, he takes ninth place. The entrepreneur and manager heads the Skolkovo Innovation Fund, a modern Moscow-based science city, and runs the Renova group.
Carier start
The future successful businessman was born in West Ukrainian Drogobych in 1957. His father is a Jew, one of the few surviving in the family after the 1944 genocide, his mother is Ukrainian.
At school, Vitya stood out as a capable and purposeful student. He continued his education at the metropolitan railway institute at the faculty of computer engineering. Studying was easy for the provincial, but sometimes there were not enough funds for living in Moscow. Then I had to earn money as a loader at a meat factory or a confectionery factory. Having received a red diploma, the graduate entered graduate school at the USSR Academy of Sciences.
The first place of work of Vekselberg was OKB Connas from 1978 to 1990. Here he made a good career from an ordinary employee to the head of the laboratory. In 1990, Victor opened his first companies. One was promoting software, the other was selling non-ferrous metals abroad. The profit was very good, it subsequently formed the basis of the future financial empire.
Renova
Together with a student friend Leonid Blavatnik, who by that time had moved to the United States, they opened a joint business at home. The new company Renova bought office equipment in Europe and exchanged it for vouchers. At the time of global privatization, business partners became owners of two aluminum plants. Further investments allowed Vekselberg to expand his influence in the field of non-ferrous metals and earn a fortune. Then the aluminum tycoon turned to the oil sector and became the main shareholder of TNCs. Today Renova is a business group and has factories in 36 regions of Russia and abroad. In addition to oil refining and non-ferrous metals, she is engaged in the chemical industry, mechanical engineering, construction, telecommunications and air transportation. It is noteworthy that 80% of the company's investments are long-term investments in the Russian economy.
In 2006, Renova decided to enter the international arena and acquired the assets of two Swiss diversified enterprises. The Swiss Ministry of Finance accused the businessman of violating the exchange law and he had to pay a considerable amount to withdraw the claim from the authorities.
Other projects
In 2010, Vekselberg heads the Skolkovo center near Moscow. He explained his interest in this event by the opportunity to participate in the development of five promising areas of the economy at once: energy, computer programs, biomedicine, space and nuclear technologies.
In addition to innovation, Victor leads the board of directors of the Russian aluminum company Rusal, and for two decades he devoted leadership to the Tyumen Oil Company. In addition, the businessman owns shares of the Russian International Financial Club and real estate in different countries.
Social work
In 2004, Victor established the Cultural-Historical Foundation "Link of Times". The organization is engaged in the return of cultural heritage sites, the organization of exhibits and the creation of new museums. Exhibits are acquired in private collections abroad, as was the case with the works of the famous jeweler Faberge.
Not forgetting his roots, Vekselberg participates in the work of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia. In addition, he is a member of the Council of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of the country and the Association of Mining and Metallurgical Complex.
